Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic to Return to Winnipeg in 2026

The NHL has announced that the Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic will return to Winnipeg in October 2026, with the Winnipeg Jets due to face off outdoors against the Montreal Canadiens.

The match at the Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the home of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League, has been scheduled for October 25, 2026.

The event will be the eighth NHL Heritage Classic, following 2003 in Edmonton (first NHL outdoor regular-season game), 2011 in Calgary, 2014 in Vancouver, 2016 in Winnipeg, 2019 in Regina, Saskatchewan, 2022 in Hamilton, Ontario, and 2023 in Edmonton.

Princess Auto Stadium will be the site of the Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic for a second time. It previously hosted the event in October 2016, when the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Jets 3-0 in front of a crowd of 33,240.

Tim Hortons returns as title sponsor of the NHL Heritage Classic, marking the seventh time that the Canadian brand has sponsored the event.

Multiyear Partnership Extension

As part of the announcement, Tim Hortons and the NHL announced a multiyear extension of their Canadian partnership. The partnership includes Tim Hortons maintaining its status as the Official Coffee and Coffee Based Beverages, Tea, Hot Chocolate, Breakfast and Baked Goods of the NHL in Canada.

The Jets are 1-1-0 in outdoor regular-season action and will be playing in their third NHL Heritage Classic. In addition to their loss in 2016, Winnipeg defeated the Calgary Flames 2-1 in overtime in the 2019 contest at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.

Meanwhile, the Canadiens are set to skate in their fifth outdoor game, and first since 2017.

Montreal, 2-2-0 all time in outdoor games, defeated Edmonton in the 2003 NHL Heritage Classic and went on to play in the 2011 NHL Heritage Classic at Calgary, a 4-0 loss to the Flames. They also defeated the Boston Bruins in the NHL Winter Classic in Foxborough, Massachusetts on New Year’s Day 2016, before going down to a 3-0 loss to the Ottawa Senators in Ottawa for the NHL100 Classic in December 2017.

Event Information

Additional details about ticketing, start time and broadcast information will be announced in due course.

Princess Auto Stadium has been home to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers since it opened in 2013. The stadium has hosted the Grey Cup twice to crown a champion of the Canadian Football League, including last month when the Saskatchewan Roughriders defeated the Montreal Alouettes, and it also hosts the University of Manitoba Bisons football team.

The Winnipeg Jets are the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners, after achieving a league-high 116 points during a 56-win regular season in 2024-2025, their first Presidents’ Trophy in franchise history.